It was with great honour and satisfaction that Japan hosted the “World Maritime Day Parallel Event 2015” for its first time on Monday 20 July, which was the twentieth anniversary of enacting “Marine Day” as a national holiday, and on Tuesday 21 July. This event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Marine Day Special Events Executive Committee.
On 20 July, the event was opened at the Opening Ceremony in the presence of Mr. Akihiro Ohta, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.Following the ceremony, the two-day international symposium was held, focusing the theme: “maritime education and training”, and concluded with “the Yokohama Declaration”, which summarized the discussion.On the second day, 21 July, the excursion was organized to observe the Japan’s maritime heritage sites etc. in the city of Yokohama, which hosted the event of the day.Finally, at the closing ceremony, Mr. Akihiro Nishimura, State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan summarized this event and handed over the flag of the World Maritime Day Parallel Event to the distinguished delegate of Turkey, which will host the next year’s parallel event.
This event, which was attended by over 400 stakeholders including some 160 people from 60 countries around the world, ended successfully.
World Maritime Day in each year has a certain theme, which is reflected in IMO’s work throughout the year in question, since 1978. Under the theme, IMO holds a ceremony in the last week of September at IMO headquarters.
The theme for World Maritime Day in 2015 is “Maritime Education and Training”.
It aims to shed light on the broader aspect of maritime education and training, especially for its adequacy and quality. It sees the importance to maintain the quality, practical skill and ability of qualified human resources as a solid foundation for ensuring its sustainability of a safe and secure maritime industry.
In 2017, the 1978 STCW Convention and Code will be amended and set the international standards for the training and education of seafarers. Even though compliance with its regulation is essential for serving on board ships, only the effective maritime education and training enables seafarers and the human element ashore to maintain, update and reinforce their skills and competence adequately.
For further information on the World Maritime Day 2015, visit IMO - World Maritime Day